NEC World Series of Golf

NEC World Series of Golf

Tournament information
Location	Akron, Ohio
Established	1962
Course(s)	Firestone Country Club (South Course)
Par	70
Length	7,139 yards (6,528 m)
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Format	Stroke play
Prize fund	US$2,250,000
Month played	August
Final year	1998
Tournament record score
Aggregate	262 José María Olazábal (1990)
To par	−18 as above
Final champion
David Duval
Location map
Firestone CC Location in the United States Firestone CC Location in Ohio

The World Series of Golf was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. From its inception in 1962 through 1975, it was an unofficial 36-hole event matching the winners of the four major championships. In 1976 it became an official PGA Tour event; the field expanded to 20 players and the event was lengthened to 72 holes. the victory and $100,000 winner's share went to Nicklaus. The field was increased to over 40 players in 1983, though it never exceeded 50; NEC began sponsoring the event in 1984.

The tournament was last played in 1998, but was replaced by the newly created WGC-NEC Invitational in 1999. Firestone Country Club had hosted that tournament (now known as the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) every year until 2019, except for 2002.

History

Invitation era

The World Series of Golf was founded as a four-man invitational event in 1962, comprising the winners of the four major championships in a 36-hole event. In the made-for-television tournament, the competitors played in one group for $75,000 in unofficial prize money, televised by NBC.

The inaugural edition in September 1962 included only the "Big Three" of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player. Palmer had won two majors that year and a fourth competitor was not added. Palmer shot a course record 65 in the first round on Saturday, but fell back with a 74 on Sunday. Nicklaus won with 135, four strokes ahead of Palmer and Player. Nicklaus, age 22, won a then-staggering $50,000, with $15,000 for second and $5,000 each for third and fourth, split between the other two for $12,500 each. Opposite this competition was the regular tour event in Denver, which had a winner's share of $4,300. The highest paying major at the time was the Masters with a winner's share of $20,000; Nicklaus had won $17,500 at the U.S. Open at Oakmont, which included a sizable $2,500 playoff bonus from the extra day's gate receipts, well-attended due to the presence of favorite son Palmer. At the time of his big Akron payday, the U.S. Open was Nicklaus' only tour victory as a rookie, but he won the next two events at Seattle ($4,300) and Portland ($3,500).

In 1963, Nicklaus won two majors, so a fourth player was added to the World Series via an 18-hole playoff between the three men who had lost playoffs in that year's majors; Palmer and Jacky Cupit in the U.S. Open and Phil Rodgers in the Open Championship. Palmer prevailed by five strokes in the August playoff. Nicklaus repeated as the World Series winner in September, one stroke ahead of Julius Boros, with Palmer in third and Bob Charles in fourth. The opposite tour event in 1963 was the Utah Open in Salt Lake City, with a winner's share of $6,400.

The first year with four players as reigning major champions was 1964, the first without Nicklaus. Tony Lema took the top spot, followed by Ken Venturi, Bobby Nichols, and Palmer. This was also the first year without a concurrent PGA Tour event.

In the final year of the four-man format in 1975, Tom Watson won with a two-stroke advantage over runner-up Nicklaus. The money was the same as in 1962, except that third place received $7,500, claimed by Tom Weiskopf. Nicklaus had won his second major of the year, the PGA Championship, at the same course a month earlier. In the fourteen editions of the event, Nicklaus played in ten, won four, and finished as runner-up in six.

In subsequent years, if one had won multiple majors, the alternate was the winner of the Western Open or Canadian Open.

The format of the four major winners in a 36-hole competition was later adopted by the PGA of America in 1979 for its PGA Grand Slam of Golf, last held in 2014.

From 1961 through 1976, Firestone also hosted the American Golf Classic on the South course. It was not played in the years of the PGA Championship (1960, 1966, 1975), and the final edition in 1976 was played on the par-72 North course, with the World Series on the South course the following week.

PGA Tour event

In 1976, it became a 72-hole, $300,000 PGA Tour event and its field was initially expanded to twenty; the victory and $100,000 winner's share went to Nicklaus. The largest first prize at a major that year was $45,000 at the PGA Championship.

The World Series of Golf quickly became a leading event on the tour. For many years a victory in it gave a 10-year exemption on the PGA Tour, the same as was granted for a victory in a major championship at that time, and twice as long as is given even for winning a major now. The field consisted of the winners of all the high status men's professional golf tournaments around the world in the previous twelve months.

The field was expanded in 1984 to include some international players, all tour event winners, and the top fifteen on the current money list, with 47 players eligible. The expansion wasn't well-received by all players, and a notable absence was Seve Ballesteros of Spain, who opted out.

Winners

PGA Tour event

Year	Winner	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Winner's share ($)
NEC World Series of Golf
1998	David Duval	269	−11	2 strokes	Phil Mickelson	405,000
1997	Greg Norman (2)	273	−7	4 strokes	Phil Mickelson	396,000
1996	Phil Mickelson	274	−6	3 strokes	Billy Mayfair Duffy Waldorf Steve Stricker	378,000
1995	Greg Norman	278	−2	Playoff	Billy Mayfair Nick Price	360,000
1994	José María Olazábal (2)	269	−11	1 stroke	Scott Hoch	360,000
1993	Fulton Allem	270	−10	5 strokes	Jim Gallagher Jr. Nick Price Craig Stadler	360,000
1992	Craig Stadler (2)	273	−7	1 stroke	Corey Pavin	252,000
1991	Tom Purtzer	279	−1	Playoff	Jim Gallagher Jr. Davis Love III	216,000
1990	José María Olazábal	262	−18	12 strokes	Lanny Wadkins	198,000
1989	David Frost	276	−4	Playoff	Ben Crenshaw	180,000
1988	Mike Reid	275	−5	Playoff	Tom Watson	162,000
1987	Curtis Strange	275	−5	3 strokes	Fulton Allem	144,000
1986	Dan Pohl	277	−3	1 stroke	Lanny Wadkins	126,000
1985	Roger Maltbie	268	−12	4 strokes	Denis Watson	126,000
1984	Denis Watson	271	−9	2 strokes	Bruce Lietzke	126,000
World Series of Golf
1983	Nick Price	270	−10	4 strokes	Jack Nicklaus	100,000
1982	Craig Stadler	278	−2	Playoff	Raymond Floyd	100,000
1981	Bill Rogers	275	−5	1 stroke	Tom Kite	100,000
1980	Tom Watson	270	−10	2 strokes	Raymond Floyd	100,000
1979	Lon Hinkle	272	−8	1 stroke	Larry Nelson Bill Rogers Lee Trevino	100,000
1978	Gil Morgan	278	−2	Playoff	Hubert Green	100,000
1977	Lanny Wadkins	267	−13	5 strokes	Hale Irwin Tom Weiskopf	100,000
1976	Jack Nicklaus	275	−5	4 strokes	Hale Irwin	100,000

Unofficial event

Year	Winner	Runner(s)-up	Third	Fourth
World Series of Golf
1975	Tom Watson	Jack Nicklaus	Tom Weiskopf	Lou Graham
1974	Lee Trevino	Gary Player	Bobby Nichols	Hale Irwin
1973	Tom Weiskopf	(T2) Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller		Tommy Aaron
1972	Gary Player	(T2) Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino		Gay Brewer
1971	Charles Coody	Jack Nicklaus	Lee Trevino	Bruce Crampton
1970	Jack Nicklaus	(T2) Billy Casper, Dave Stockton		Tony Jacklin
1969	Orville Moody	George Archer	(T3) Tony Jacklin, Raymond Floyd
1968	Gary Player	Bob Goalby	Julius Boros	Lee Trevino
1967	Jack Nicklaus	Gay Brewer	Roberto De Vicenzo	Don January
1966	Gene Littler	(T2) Jack Nicklaus, Al Geiberger		Billy Casper
1965	Gary Player	Jack Nicklaus	Peter Thomson	Dave Marr
1964	Tony Lema	Ken Venturi	Bobby Nichols	Arnold Palmer
1963	Jack Nicklaus	Julius Boros	Arnold Palmer	Bob Charles
1962	Jack Nicklaus	(T2) Arnold Palmer, Gary Player

Place	Money ($)
1	50,000
2	15,000
3	7,500 ^
4	5,000

^ Third place was $5,000 in the first three editions (1962–64)